[mythtv-users] Standard PCI VDPAU-capable Video Cards vs. PCIExpress

[Brian Wood]

On Sunday, November 28, 2010 10:57:50 am Robert Longbottom wrote:

> > 
> > How about the OSDs? Are they OK?
> 
> Yes, the osds were fine - I assume you mean during playback? 
> Everything just worked.
> 
> > May I ask what mobo you are using? Most of them have a BIOS setting
> > to tell it what graphics card to use first, this might correct the
> > booting problem.
> 
> No idea. It's a small form factor HP business pc that I got from work
> when they were selling them off for £30 as part of an upgrade.
> 
> I did have a fiddle around with the various settings in the bios but
> never managed to find a combination that worked. I think I ended up
> wit the on board graphics disabled, an old-ish nvidia agp card and
> the Sparkle pci card in it. That's the only way it would boot!  The
> bios and text console display on the agp card and I configured X to
> run on the pci card.
> 
> Sadly the agp card wasn't new enough to do vdpau and I couldn't find
> a low profile agp card that would. Thankfully the pci slots were
> turned on their side it would take a full height card.

I'm not aware of any AGP card that will do VDPAU. If I could find one I'd 
jump on it immediately. The only ones I have found are either PCIExpress 
or PCI.

If I've missed one I'd love to hear about it :-)

> 
> The only other problem was that the massive heat sink on the pci card
> blocked both if the pci slots.  Hence it was a frontend only.

Fanless cards have a tendency to do that :-(

> 
> I've not actually used it for ages, but I'll bring it back into
> service at some point.

Sounds like my approach, I'd rather figure out some way to use this gear, 
and not toss it.

Thanks.